BBC Focus - 09.2019

raditionally,themorepeopleina city,thefewertrees

thereare.Tocreatespaceforhouses,oicesandother

buildings,naturetakessecondplace.But,if the

architectStefanoBoerihasanythingtodowithit,this

willsoonbechanging.

Boerihasdesigneda forestcity,tobecreatedinthenorthof

Liuzhou– a metropolisintheGuangxiregioninsouthernChina.

Thismountainousareawaschosentobe“acitywhereliving

natureis totallyintertwinedwitharchitecture,”accordingto

Boeri.Insteadofcompletelygeingridofthetreestobuild

houses,thecity’sdesignaccommodatesthesurrounding

greenery.Homesandcommercialbuildingswillbecoveredwith

trees,withgardensonthebalconiesofeveryoor,androoops

thatarehometominiatureforests.

“I havebeenworkingontheideaofurbanforestationfor

years,”saysBoeri.“Inthoseareasoftheplanetwhereit is still

necessarytobuildnewcities,weareplanningrealforestcities

fora maximumof150,000inhabitants.”

TheLiuzhouForestCitywillbeconnectedtocentralLiuzhou

viaa railwaylineanda road.It willbehometo30,000people,

andincludecommercialandrecreationalspaces,twoschools

anda hospital.Ontopofthis,thevegetationwillabsorbcarbon

dioxideandpollutants,aswellasreleasingoxygenintothe

atmosphere.

Developmentis wellunderwayfortheforestcity.“Our

masterplanfora forestcityinLiuzhouhasbeenapprovedby

thelocalgovernment,”saysBoeri.Now,thegovernmentis

startingtheprocessofsellinglandtointeresteddevelopers.

“Thecurrentphaseis stillongoingforlandselling,”saysBoeri.

Buildingis expectedtobeginin2020.Atthesametime,thefirm

hasreplicatedtheconceptinLishui,a cityinthesoutheastof

China.Themasterplanhasalsobeengiventhethumbs-upby

localgovernorshere,andthedeveloperis collectingfundsto

launchtheproject.

If theChinesecitiesprovesuccessful,Boerihopesthatthe

ideawilltakeholdacrosstheworld.“Wearedevelopingthe

GARDEN STATE

T

sameconceptinotherplaces with dierent climate

conditions,suchasMexico and north Africa,” he says.

Andthereis sciencebehind the idea of planting trees to

haltclimatechange.A study earlier this year by scientists at

ETHZurichfoundthatplanting at least a trillion trees around

theworldcouldlockup205 billion tonnes of carbon, once

thetreesaremature,helping to oset the eects of

releasinggreenhousegases into the atmosphere.

byABIGAILBEALL(@abbybeall)

Abigailis a sciencejournalist, based in Leeds.

Once mature, the trees and plants

will help absorb 58 tonnes of

airborne pollutants and around

10,000 tonnes of CO 2 per year, and

create 9,000 tonnes of oxygen

FEATURE ECO-CITIES

CAN FOREST CITIES HELP TO MOP UP OUR POLLUTION?

STEFANO BOERI ARCHITETTI